KEANSBURG – Jane Kolyer and her three dogs, five cats and two parrots want to go home, but until their Oak Street house is elevated they’ll have to make do in a two-bedroom across town. That is, if the rent gets paid.

Kolyer, a part-time federal employee at Newark Liberty International Airport, said she signed up for the Sandy Homeowner and Renter Assistance Program, or SHRAP, thinking it would be a way to pay for the second residence that she needed for a few months while contractors rebuilt her flooded-out home. She has since figured out the state’s Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation program doesn’t move at a pleasing pace.

An angry landlord alerted her to another reality: her SHRAP payments were regularly coming in late.

On Monday, Kolyer, who described SHRAP as her “the biggest nightmare,” was called by Novadebt, one of the SHRAP providers in Monmouth County, and told that September appointments — where a case worker meets with a beneficiary and goes over that month’s bills — were canceled. It turns out a bureaucratic snafu was keeping the money, albeit temporarily, from where it was needed.

“They’re not giving us enough notice to even borrow the money,” she said.

The state has set aside $104 million for SHRAP, which is sometimes called the Sandy Working Families Living Expenses Voucher Program. As of the end of July, more than 9,600 households participated and nearly $61 million was spent.

Money from SHRAP can be used to cover mortgage and rental payments (current and past due), utility payments, property taxes, homeowners association fees and essential household items, which includes things such as furniture, washers and dryers, air conditioners and refrigerators. Each household is eligible for up to six months of assistance, capped at a total of $15,000.

Vendors — landlords, mortgage companies, utility companies — are paid directly by the program and vouchers are available for approved retailers. No money goes to the qualifying household.

Sandy Shore, spokeswoman for Novadebt, confirmed appointments for all SHRAP beneficiaries had been suspended. However, since that action was taken the delayed money came through and all September appointments were back on as of Wednesday — though she recommends clients should call first to confirm. The problem has been fixed permanently, Shore added.

Novadebt had been paying SHRAP bills from reserves and then treating the monthly influx of cash as reimbursement, Shore said, but that arrangement was untenable for the nonprofit. She said the county was given what Novadebt believed was enough time to switch payment processes without disrupting service. A spokeswoman for Monmouth County could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The program’s fund “was running low for about a week” but was not exhausted, according to Nicole Brossoie, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services. Monmouth County had steered money, at Novadebt’s request, to the credit-counseling nonprofit on Friday and Wednesday, Brossoie said.

Kolyer, who made some calls on her own, concluded: “Everything is being held up in red tape.”